It’s that time again! The 8th annual Cert Clean “Clean Beauty Awards” is fully underway and I have been busy testing several products for judging.
I’m just about ready to submit my scores and reviews, but I also wanted to share what I have been testing with you and my thoughts on each.
What is Cert Clean?
“Cert Clean is North America’s leading certification for safer beauty and personal care products.”
Based in Toronto, CertClean helps make safer skincare the new norm by helping shoppers easily discover beauty and personal care products formulated without ingredients recognized to cause harm to human health.
Read more about Cert Clean here.
What are the Clean Beauty Awards?
The Clean Beauty Awards is an annual event that recognizes the best-performing clean beauty products in the world.
Established in 2015, the global Clean Beauty Awards is the largest awards program celebrating excellence in “clean beauty” products. This year, for the 8th annual Clean Beauty Awards, 224 indie clean beauty brands, from all over Canada, the US, and throughout Asia Pacific and Europe, entered 283 products.
Read my other posts on the Clean Beauty Awards:
This year’s product selections
I’ve had the honor of participating as a judge for the Clean Beauty Awards since 2018 and every year it seems the product entries just get better and better!
My method of testing the products was to test each for a period of time or use as I felt my skin needed. I would generally use one product during the day and then maybe 2 at night. For example, I’d use the Lunar Oil first and then add the Nourishing Oil over top (a great combo for my skin).
I also want to note that judging these products and having to score them (and not being able to give repeat scores to each brand) was incredibly difficult! If it were up to me, I would have scored them all as 10s!
- Holistic Vanity Barrier Balm – After finding out I have rosacea, this product has been a skin-saver for me! Formulated with oils such as pomegranate, blue chamomile, and passionfruit, this thick, luxurious oil works to strengthen, soothe and heal the skin barrier, while calming inflammation and redness. I use this at night when my skin is suffering from redness and irritation and it calms it down really quickly. This is also super hydrating and perfect for the colder months to help keep skin moisturized.
- Byroe Pear Serum Oil – This is my second time testing a product from Byroe and just like last year, I am equally impressed with what they sent me this year. Containing ingredients like pear, diamond powder, ceramides, turmeric, moringa seed oil, and red algae, this serum oil brightens, hydrates, and creates a dewy glow to the skin. Bonus points for their unique and creative bottle designs too!
- Dianne Caine Australia Bakuchiol Booster – Bakuchiol is a gentle plant-based alternative to retinol that has become very popular in natural skincare. It has the same benefits as retinol, but without any of the redness and irritation retinol can cause. I love this product because it only contains 3 ingredients – bakuchiol, jojoba oil, and squalane oil and can be added to your moisturizer or used on its own. I use this during the day, mixed in with my moisturizer.
- Yunasence Seleniya – This is another product that is good for sensitive and rosacea-prone skin. It contains ingredients to calm, soothe, and strengthen the skin barrier, prevent TEWL, stimulate collagen production, and increase firmness. It’s basically everything you want and need to have healthy, youthful, and glowy skin. I’ve been using this as part of my morning routine and my skin loves it!
- BareLuxe Bakuchiol Oil Serum – This is another brand that I had the pleasure to test and judge last year and once again, they sent something that I absolutely love! Containing 1.5% bakuchiol, rosehip oil, date seed extract, and lupine seed extract, this is a very potent anti-aging oil that is also great for sensitive and acne (or rosacea) prone skin! Every ingredient is thoughtfully selected and works to improve the health of your skin. I use this mostly at night as my sole nighttime treatment and my skin looks plump, hydrated, and firmer in the mornings.
- Purodoré Nourishing Oil – There are some facial oils that make you crave them – whether it’s the scent or the texture or just how it makes your skin feel, they’re crave-able. And that’s the word I think of when I think of this facial oil. I crave it. My skin craves it. I find myself reaching for it to smell it. Is that weird? The ingredients are perfect for providing anti-aging benefits (looking at you rosehip and grapeseed oils!), but also for calming and soothing benefits (cloudberry oil). I’ve been using this mostly at night and wake up to calm, clear, and hydrated skin.
- Zia Fia Lunar Oil – If you’re looking for a facial oil to help with both acne and aging, this is the one! Tea tree oil combats acne breakouts, while rosehip and Kakadu plum, and grapeseed oils provide anti-aging benefits. The scent is the beautiful, floral of Neroli oil, and the texture is light and non-greasy. I use this at night after toning (while skin is still a bit damp) and I wake up with soft, glowy, and clearer skin. Highly recommend!
I’m excited to see the final results and will share those once I know! I still think they are all winners in my book!
Chat soon,
Brie xo
*All products were sent to me for judging purposes – all thoughts and opinions are my own. All photos are property of La Vie de Brie Louise.
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